Vitaly Yurchenko was working on a nearby roof when he witnessed the explosion at Chernobyl. A fortunate survivor of this nuclear catastrophe, Vitaly is a graduate of the Kyiv Theological Seminary, and he gave up a lucrative private business to become a church planter with BIEM. When Vitaly first visited Chervona Sloboda, Ukraine, there was not so much as one church of any kind, and he felt the Lord urging him to start one. Beginning by renting the village club and holding evangelistic meetings, he has been blessed by God as souls have turned to Christ as Savior. Vitaly now leads a congregation (called Grace Baptist Church), which purchased a house to remodel and expand as their own meeting place. Despite open hostility from two community leaders (the school principal and the manager of the liquor distillery), Vitaly steadfastly persevered in proclaiming the Gospel, and the Lord is blessing his faithfulness.